


Chains

by idothatoutside



Category: DRAMAtical Murder (Visual Novel), DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: Aoba is a total mom, M/M, Mink is bara cinammon daddy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2016-01-16
Packaged: 2018-05-10 08:05:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5577775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idothatoutside/pseuds/idothatoutside
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two years into his marriage and Aoba is finally feeling like Mink has rid himself of the chains from the past. However his own longing for Japan and troubling news about Toue may change that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Dramatic. That's one word Aoba would used to describe the states. On the reservation it wasn't bad, far from it. However from what he saw on their pitiable television he could tell that America was one big never ending TV drama. Not to trivialize the problems of other people, no he was mainly talking about the white people chattering away on the news about some breaking news headline. Those people especially on this specific station had their heads way too far up their ass. Plus it was always whitewashed bad news there were going on about, couldn't they talk about a local animal shelter or something? Rolling his eyes at a blonde nut gushing over an alcoholic beverage that only had 100 calories Aoba continued to scrub at their dinner plates.

He worked until the plate was submerged in a foamy lather and then rinsed off the sullied dish soap until it was sparkling clean. Of course he'd have to flip over twice to be sure no dried up piece of food was still stuck on it. The plate was well worn and faded from the amount of times it's been used and washed but Aoba had always been protective over the dishes, not in any weird way, it was just that there was usually always someone being invited over for dinner. The community was pretty tight nit even though they lived in mildly isolated, forested area of the town. Through Aoba's insistence a family or two would make their way down and have a lovely meal with him and his husband. Even though he's been in America for years, the small longing for the bustling city noises of Kyuujuuminku still remained. Then again the Navajo nation would always be his home, along with Mink, Ren, Tori, and the dishes he was currently scrubbing at. Carefully placing the plate in the drying rack Aoba turned down the volume on the small TV. He had enough of that women's nasally voice. Instead he figured he'd fill in the silence by speaking to his husband who was seated at the table, looking over the Navajo Times. 

"You know the Hales' had their Hogan finished after all this time," Aoba began. "They even had a Medicine Man bless it. I just hope it doesn't become a tourist hotspot, I remember Maria telling me that her Grandmother was trampled by a tourist during a Pow-wow."

Peering at Aoba from the top of his newspaper Mink gave him sharp look. "Isn't Maria the one I caught you gossiping with when I came home from work?"

A blush tinted his neck and face making him furiously scrub another plate to try and hide his shame. "We weren't gossiping, ok she was but I being polite so I listened!"

"Mhm..." Was the only reply he got from Mink who didn't believe him in the slightest.

"Alright well if you're so ready to criticize me then you get the honor of putting these dishes away," Aoba huffed, throwing the sponge in the sink and plopping himself in the chair across from Mink.

A small noise from Mink confirmed that he was only teasing, it was like a mix between a chuckle and a grunt. "Is that so? Then I'm honored you would let me lay a finger on your precious dishes," he goaded.

"Well can you blame me for not wanting my dishes broken? I mean look at your hands!" To further his point Aoba grabbed one of Mink's hands and placed it on his. The differences in size was extremely obvious. Although worn from the time he spent on housework and at work Aoba's hand was rather dainty. Mink's however was huge and scarred. 

"You could probably break someone's neck with this hand!" Aoba exclaimed. "Wait...have you?"

Instead of answering his question Mink took his hand from his husband's grasp and got up from the table. "I'm going to work. If I don't hurry I'll be late."

Also getting up from the table Aoba placed his hands on his hips. "Wait stop avoiding the question I-Mhmph!" Before he knew it Mink glided over to Aoba and placed a firm kiss on his lips, effectively shutting him up.

The scent of cinnamon engulfed him as did the slight scent of cheap coffee. His aroma was so significant that whenever he smelt it Aoba felt his whole body slacken. It had very effective calming effect on him, which he was sure Mink used to his advantage. The soft feeling of Mink's slightly chapped lips made him his heart soar...yet there was an unmistakable emptiness in his stomach. Breaking from the kiss Aoba hooked his arms around Mink and rested his head on his shoulder, which required him to balance on the tips of his toes. "I hate seeing you leave...even though I know you're coming back..." Aoba mumbled sheepishly.

He had no idea what sprung him to say that, perhaps he was in one of his moods. When he woke up this morning he was a little more disappointed than usual to find an empty spot next to him. Mink usually took a shower right when he woke up which prompted Aoba to work on breakfast. It was all routine...so why was he feeling so lonely? Concern etched on to Mink's face as he removed Aoba's head from his shoulder and placed the back of his hand on his forehead. 

"Aoba are you feeling ok?" he asked worriedly. 

"Yes I'm fine I'm not sick or anything," Aoba reassured him. "I've just been feeling...melancholic lately...I...."

With his arms now crossed in front of him Mink raised an eyebrow, urging him to continue.

"Well remember around two years back when we talked about visiting Kyuujuuminku? Well it's been all this time yet we never went through with it...what I'm getting at is I want to visit Kyuujuuminku again. I want to see Granny and Koujaku and Mizuki and Clear. Hell even Noiz if he's still hanging around playing Rhyme after all this time." Aoba confessed.

After that long winded explanation Aoba stared down at his feet, his braided and beaded hair covering a good portion of his face. He felt a little silly for feeling like that, after all he called Granny on his coil a lot and his home was with Mink. He shouldn't be homesick after two years of spending time in the Navajo Nation. Mink was having none of that. Sweeping some of his hair from his face and then tucking it in one ear Mink decided that it was time to come through with his promise.

"You're right Aoba. I've been neglecting the promise I made you, I'll contact work and let them know that I'll be taking a vacation soon, you should let your work know as well. We should plan on leaving a month from now to settle all of our affairs. How does the 1st of May sound?"

That left Aoba relatively dumbstruck. He was certainly not expecting that. The most he thought he would get out of him was an 'I see...' and then him saying ‘we'll see what happens.’ Mink formulated a decent plan in under five seconds, pretty much ignoring common sense that dictated actually thinking about it beforehand. Aoba felt his heart beat rapidly followed by his throat growing heavy. His head was filled with admiration from Mink at that moment, prompting him to hook his arms around his neck again and pull his head down so he could kiss the living hell out of him. The hungry kiss surprised Mink but he couldn't complain. Aoba's hands slid up from Mink's neck to the side’s of his cheeks so he could push Mink deeper in the kiss. Chastity was thrown out the window when Aoba began to lick Mink's lips ravenously, begging him for more. Mink complied, slipping his tongue in Aoba's mouth and teasing the walls of his cheeks with the tip of his tongue. A moan rumbled out of the back of Aoba's throat, the combined pleasure of the makeout session followed by Mink's doting nature had him go weak at the knees. It would have been perfect if Mink didn't have work like right now but duty called. Breaking the kiss abruptly Aoba could have sworn he saw a flash of dissapoint overtake Mink’s usually impassive facial expression.

"You have to go to work but don't work to hard, otherwise you'll be too tired for tonight..." Aoba purred near Mink's ear.

He was feeling like a sexual deviant today, thanks to Mink not only apologizing but planning the vacation on the spot. 

A low chuckle resounded from Mink's chest. "Maybe I should plan these vacations more often..." 

That earned a small laugh from Aoba. "Well now that you mention it I have been wanting to go to Germany-"

"I revoke my previous statement."

"To late!" Aoba responded with his hands on his hips.

"Oh look at the time I've got to get to work," Mink observed while heading out the door. 

"I- well fine," Aoba huffed, trying to repress a smile. 

"Love you Aoba," Mink said before closing the door on his way out.

His heart fluttered in his chest as he looked at the closed door. Mink used ‘love you’ sparingly, so he must have left in a good mood. With his mouth slightly hanging open Aoba heard the sound of tiny paws padding into the room. It was Ren in all of his fluffy glory. The sight of his beloved Allmate snapped him out of his stupor. Bending down Aoba scooped Ren up and looked down at his small body.

"Ren looks like we're going back to Kyuujuuminku soon, are you excited? We'll get to see Granny and Koujaku again," Aoba informed him with a smile.

"I'm just glad to see you this happy Aoba, you've been acting despondent lately," Ren replied.

Aoba made a bit of a face at Ren's statement, was it really so obvious? "I wonder if that's why Mink so readily agreed to it...do you think I worried him?"

Ren blinked a few times before answering in his usual deep voice. "He's always worried for you Aoba. Perhaps this visit back to Japan will clear both of your minds."

"Yeah maybe..." 

Pressing his head to Ren's tiny one Aoba let out a sigh. He hoped he wasn't adding more stress to Mink's already busy life. His husband was hard working to the point where he hated asking for help. Aoba didn't want to add to that.

"Aoba you're thinking too much. If the average human-" Before Ren could finish his blue haired owner belted out a loud laugh.

"Ren you never change, you're like my personal nostalgia gashapon machine," he teased.

"I assume that's a good thing," Ren deadpanned.

That earned a few more chuckles as Aoba put his small companion down to return to the dishes. Snapping on the small little tv Aoba scrapped at a pesky dried up piece of food while listening to some man's endless chatter. After a while it seemed like the news station was almost tired of the man's endless narrow minded ramblings for it switched to a very professional looking lady. Apparently she was a professor at a prestigious college. Her dark skin had a very cool undertone adding to her sophisticated figure. Her hair was pulled in a tight bun that left no stray hair even as she spoke fervently. 

"Regarding the recent scandal revolving around Toue's research we found an abundance of information regarding neuroscience. Japanese law enforcement has asked for our aid and input so naturally when we found this we reported it to them right away. The contents were...morbid. Abiding to privacy regulations I am unable to disclose details however I am authorized to make a few statements. Keep in mind the contents of this does not in any way reflect my personal moral beliefs."

Throughout her introduction Aoba felt his stomach turn to ice. A few beads of cold sweat rolled down his neck as anxiety bit at his chest. Half of him wanted to change the channel but the dominant half refused. 

"The research conducted at Toue Inc. centered around the elasticity of the human brain. To put it simply the data they collected was for the use of human ascendancy. Their main goal was to find a way to control a person's brain through various of means, mostly by vocal stimulation and electromagnetic radiation. The experiments varied from using human subjects as guinea pigs or creating pseudo human subjects. The experiments varied but were usually painful and irreversible. Several of us agree that Platinum Jail was built as a field test to observe their experiments, the people outside being the control variable. We also believe that after a good portion of tests were completed Toue would expand his reaches outside of Platinum Jail. One more note worthy piece of information is that his research had common themes to it, mostly involving a vocal manipulation ability he created called Scrap, however at this time we are unable to find more information about this."

Aoba was on a wire, titling back and forth from having a meltdown or going catatonic. He didn't hear the scientist sharing her thoughts with the reporter nor Ren's worried voice. All he could focus on was a jumble of emotion fueled memories, ones of a small church and a stark white room. He didn't even hear the sound of a plate falling to the ground and breaking into pieces. He did however see the floor rapidly grow closer and closer until he fell hard on it, sending his consciousness tumbling out of reach.

When he awoke he was startled to see he was not a heap on the floor but instead staring at the ceiling of their bedroom. His dazed mind could only fathom that Ren somehow dragged him to his room. Picturing Ren’s tiny body trying to lift his body caused him to laugh softly. His laughter caught the attention of Mink who was sitting by his bedside.

“Aoba what happened? How are you feeling?” he asked.

Turning his head to find the source of the voice Aoba saw Mink who was sporting an extremely worried expression. His foggy mind was unable to process the question so he ended up not even explaining himself.

“Huh so Ren wasn’t the one to bring me here, that makes a lot more sense,” he observed tiredly. 

Mink gave Aoba a mystified look, clearly his husband was still out of it. “No, Ren alerted me that you collapsed suddenly and so I rushed back here to find you crumpled on the ground. I had to call the village doctor, he said it was probably from stress, you also hit your head on the floor when you passed out. Luckily you’re only minorly concussed.”

The haze slowly dissipated while Mink told him the details of his fall. He knew he should tell Mink about what he saw on TV but...he couldn’t. Aoba didn’t want to uncover painful memories for his husband, he only recently started living in the present. He didn’t want to undo years of work. 

“I guess I haven’t been feeling that great for a couple of days,” Aoba lied. “I should have said something...I’m sorry.”

Mink eyed him steadily, as if searching for something more. He had a feeling Mink didn’t buy all of it but he left no indication that he was lying. 

“You need to tell me when you’re not feeling well so we can avoid this sort of thing in the future,” Mink admonished.

“I know I’m sorry...I just didn’t want to worry you, you’ve been under a lot of stress and I didn’t want to add to that,” Aoba confessed. A truth within a lie, he felt guilty but he reminded himself that this was for the best.

Mink pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly exasperated by his partners naivety. “By not telling me you make me more worried in the end.”

Aoba didn’t say anything, opting to turn his head the opposite way. Shame crawled up his back for not only lying to Mink but for worrying him as well.

“Moushiwake arimasen deshita…” Aoba muttered softly.

Mink made a surprised noise at his lover’s very formal apology. He didn’t expect him to feel that bad. Bringing his hand over to his head Mink picked up a strand of Aoba’s hair, one that was artfully beaded.

“While you were sleeping I put more beads in your hair, this particular arrangement means good health and forgiveness.”

His eyes went wide as Mink showed him the strand. The beads were beautiful and he felt very touched by his husband’s gesture. He found his hand gravitating toward Mink’s until it settled on top of it. 

“I love you Mink,” Aoba said, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

“I love you to Aoba.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> so the chapters pretty short but we're just getting to the good stuff so from now on the chapters will get longer. i did research about the Lakota hair braiding custom but if something is inaccurate please tell me!

Aoba was assigned the task of 'bed rest' for the next couple of days. It was nostalgic having Mink take care of him, it reminded him of the first months into their relationship when he kept getting sick. This time it was due to a head injury, making Mink extra precautions whenever Aoba got out of bed. At first it was just to use the bathroom but when Mink came home to find Aoba rigorously cleaning the house he put his foot down and basically confined his persnickety husband to their bed. Presently Aoba was trapped under a mound of blankets, surrounded by a heavy yet comforting warmth as he flipped through The Picture of Dorian Gray. It was a salacious story that was at times tough to get through but Aoba found himself addicted to the obscenity that the story cast, not to mention it helped him polish his english, which was almost flawless due to his dedication in learning it. Thumbing through some of the slightly yellowed pages Aoba sighed and tucked a bookmark in a page. There was only so much reading a person could do before they were seeing the same font even when their eyes were closed. 

His confinement gave him time to think of what he saw on tv. He was an experiment that much he could garner, a guinea pig to host the ability scrap. If he thought long enough he could vaguely remember a stark white room and the feeling of plastic tubes snaking up his cold skin. Going even deeper he remembered a body next to him and the tickle of long hair on his neck. However he had to stop there or else a severe headache would form followed by an electric snap running down his spine. The constant bed rest also made him antsy, especially concerning all the questions he had for Tae-san. During the whole Morphine business she explained a portion pertaining to Scrap but besides that there were a lot of gaps. Before seeing the interview he was perfectly content with the information he was given though now not so much. Aoba desperately wanted to talk to someone about this, to help quell the scratchy anxiety that burned at his throat. He pretty much blew his chance at telling Mink anything which only fueled his unease. 

Perhaps his Grandmother could help. It definitely was not a conversation for the coil, he felt he'd probably chicken out if he tried to talk to her about it using that device. Face to face would probably force him to ask her, she was very observant. Tae-san wouldn't use coercion but his own guilt would ease his questions out. Shifting himself so he was upright Aoba let the mound of pillows behind him support his body. He was emotionally exhausted. It was like all his built up trauma suddenly boiled over leaving him rather drained. He couldn't worry Mink so he gave it his all to appear as if it was just the concussion talking, though that excuse would expire soon. Aoba hoped that the trip back to Japan would ease his emotional hiccups. 

Just as he was about to drift off in an uneasy sleep again Mink came in holding two cups of coffee. The sight brought a slight smile to Aoba's downturned lips. Setting one of the mugs on the side table Mink handed Aoba the other. It was still warm but not scalding hot. Bonus points for the mug it was in, which was a white mug with two pickles one the front, the bigger one telling the smaller one 'I'm kind of a big dill!' When Aoba saw the mug it took a few seconds for him to register the pun but when he did he lost his shit. He never laughed that hard before. Mink thought it was ridiculous but seeing his lover doubled over to the point of tears made him buy it for him. Ever since then Aoba found himself favoring the mug to the point where would wash it right after he used it so he would have the mug ready for any other beverage he would want that day. Mink would never admit it but he found it extraordinarily adorable.

His musings brought him back to the time when Mink was showing him where his village used to be. He remembered him telling him a little about his family and how his mother used to use the oven a lot along with his little sister. A sudden urge had him ask something he didn't think he had the right to ask.

"Mink...what was your mother like?" Realizing how rude that sounded Aoba shrunk back against the pillows. "Ah gomenasai."

His husband looked hard at him before sighing and settling down next to him. "I guess it's about time I tell you more about my family.”

“You don’t have to…it was rude of me to ask...” Aoba muttered sheepishly. 

Mink shook his head. “No it’s fine, I should be able to tell you now that I've turned my back on the past. I've moved forward in life and have taken my second journey toward death...this time with you by my side. Knowing that I can finally look behind me and realize that the memories of my family weren't always coated in destruction."

"Mink..." Aoba whispered, touched by his authenticity.

"I will tell you about her, but first tell me about your mother," Mink said. 

"Huh? My mother? Well there isn't much to say about her...I mean the only memories of her I have was when I was very little..." Aoba admitted.

"So she's deceased?" Mink observed, a little mystified.

"Oh no, well at least I'm pretty sure she's not," Aoba corrected. Though Mink's puzzled look meant that he was still rather lost. "You see she travels around a lot. Her husband, my father, was the one to adopt me and the reason why they travel around so much. A small portion of my life as a kid was spent in a church funded orphanage. I don't know who my real parents are but I don't think that matters anymore."

"I see..." Mink muttered, a little surprised by the information.

"My father, he was the one to find me. He met me on a beach and I..." Aoba paused, trying to find the right words. "When I met him he filled me with the will to live. Before meeting him I wasn't all that there, bordering between numbness and disillusionment. I was on a thin line but my father gave me something I will always cherish. He gave me purpose. After talking to him he adopted me and soon I was living with Granny, my mother, and him. My mother is a kind soul who had a past filled with abuse yet she always stayed smiling. However my father had a condition, I'm not exactly sure what but it made him hear voices. In order to clear the voices he's taken to traveling. So one day he took off with my mother in tow. I don't blame him though, not at all. I do miss them and it would be nice if they called but I still love them plus I have you, Granny, Ren, Koujaku, so I'm never lonely."

"Aoba," Mink murmured softly. He had no idea Aoba's past was so complicated. When he first met him he thought he had it relatively easy give or take awol parents. Mink had no idea that Aoba was an orphan or that he was bordering suicidal while he was so young. No child should have to wade through despair like that. Shame swelled in his being for thinking that Aoba experienced no hardships growing up. He shouldn't have assumed anything about his lover's life.

A sudden warmth creeped up Aoba's face. Mink was cupping his cheek in his large hand in a sympathetic gesture. His golden eyes looked at Aoba like he was his entire world. This made a blush creep along the blue haired male's face. Closing his eyes Aoba let his head rest against Mink's palm. 

A comfortable silence washed through the room until Aoba took Mink's hand in both of his. "Now tell me about your mother."

"Very well. My mother was not a Navajo native, she was actually from the Lakota tribe. To the people of this tribe hair is a connection to their spirit. Braiding a person's hair should only ever be done by a member of the family or a significant other thus where I get the hair brading custom from. She was extremely talented in that aspect, I still remember how intricate her braids were. My mother was usually always baking something in the oven or making something on the stove. Whenever she was home the smell of a home cooked meal would always permeate the house. She was a kind women, always putting others needs before herself. Although caring she was fiercely protective of her family and wouldn't hesitate to put her own safety on the line. In a sense I guess she reminds me of you..."

Aoba felt tears sting his eyes but he refused to let them flow. "Mink she seemed wonderful." His throat was already starting to burn from the sobs stuck in his throat.

Mink couldn't take it anymore. Seeing his lover so emotional had his distant exterior crumble. Wrapping his arms around Aoba Mink pulled him into a tight hug. The blue haired man sunk into his husband's embrace, his face was now a flushed a deep red. Despite his embarrassment Aoba rested his head against Mink's large chest. The steady beat of his heart lulled Aoba into a world of black. 

When he woke up he was huddled in Mink's arms, the bigger male had fallen asleep a little while after Aoba. They were both heaped together on their shared bed so it was pretty warm. Tilting his head up Aoba gazed at Mink's face. When Mink slept all of his stress lines disappeared making him look a lot younger. The years had been tough on his husband yet he always kept going. First it was to avenge his family and now it was for him. A slight flutter in his had him sheepishly press a kiss on Mink's cheek. He's never been very affectionate before so it took some getting used to but with Mink it came relatively easily. He loved him that much could say. Aoba wasn't very sure what was going to happen but he could safely say Mink would continue to love him and Aoba would give him his love in return. Forever in this life and the next.


End file.
